News Café
Ulitsa Karl Marksa 34 (Карла Маркса 34)
12:00-24:00 daily
The English breakfast has arrived in Minsk and it’s right opposite the British Embassy. It’s not the real deal, more their interpretation of it and it costs a hefty 28,000br. This place also offers various other European breakfasts, a selection of foreign language newspapers, dark Kozel beer and helpful staff. English language menu.

U Ratushi (У Ратуши)
Gertsena 1  (Герцена 1)
12:00-02:00 daily
Just behind the city’s main cathedral that overlooks the river, this if not officially an Irish pub but it might as well be. Large and unassuming it has Guinness, Harp and Kilkenny on tap. With Heinz ketchup on each table this is as close to home as it gets for an ex-pat. Live music after 21:00 every evening when there is an admission charge of 5,000br.

Upteka
09:00-23:00 daily
Internatsionalnaya 9/17 (Интернациональная 9/17)
Funky hang-out popular with students. The menu’s in Russian but the staff speak English.

Hvilinka (Хвилинка)
Internatsionalnaya 11 (Интернациональная 11)
08:00-22:00 daily
There aren’t too many places like this left in the centre of Minsk so I feel it warrants a mention. A tiny beer bar with no seating and no toilets. Drop in to discover what ‘popping out for a drink’ used to mean in the days of Gorbachev.

Kayon Bar
Komsomolskaya (Комсомольская)
10:00-06:00 daily
The only notable thing about this place is the opening hours. They only have a small food menu but the kitchen stays open as long as the bar.

Staroe Ruslo (Старое Русло)
Ulyanovskaya 7 (Ульяновская 7)
12:00-23:00 daily
Minsk’s other micro-brewery, the home of Beaver beer, is very under-rated. Maybe it’s the rather drab looking building and the location on a patch of wasteland 200 metres from the Dynamo Stadium. Once inside however it’s a splendid place with three brews, including a dark, to sample and an excellent menu that includes most Belarusian favourites. English language menu.

Pizza Kapriani
Versona 14 (Версона 14)
11:00-05:00 daily
There was a time when this was one of the most popular restaurants in town, mainly because there weren’t many restaurants. In those days the décor was light and airy. Nowdays it’s dark and foreboding with blacked-out windows, lots of red bits and frankly it’s more of a bar than a restaurant.

Pinta Pab (Пинта Паб)
Versona 16 (Версона 16)
12:00-02:00 daily
Like its sister up the road, this is themed as a beer bar when in fact it’s main aim is to sell you a portion of sushi. Totally inexplicable but quite nice nonetheless.

Mixx Club Pub
Krasnaya 12 (Красная, 12)
15:00-03:00 daily
A bit hidden away, this bar has been selling Czech, German and Irish beer and showing live football for five years. It claims to be a British style pub and it pulls it off quite well in so much as the atmosphere is informal and a beer costs three quid. Small food menu, entirely in Russian. If you’re in Yakub Kolas Square then follow the tram lines to the left and the entrance is obn the other side of the road from the Virus Internet Café. Recommended.

Chill Out
Svabody Square, 4 (Площадь Свободы 4)
11:00-24:00 daily
Stressed out young businessmen head for this place to do exactly what it says on the sign. Comfortable yet unremarkable. If you get too chilled out then the huge padded menu makes a nice pillow.

Banana Café (Банана Кафе)
Storozhevskaya Street 7 (Сторожевская 7)
10.00-05.00 daily
In the heart of the old town this venue offers extended opening hours and a downstairs so-called VIP area with hookahs up for grabs (note the spelling, this isn’t a hotel lobby). Upstairs the cavernous wooden hall offers the usual Slavonic and European fare and a decent selection of beers and spirits if you’re using it for a late drink. Service can be a bit slow.

Bar Alivariya (Бар Аливария)
Kiseleva 30 (Киселева 30)
13:30-22:00 daily
Now this bar is about as basic as they come but it sells beer straight from the Alivaria Brewery it’s attached to and it does have toilets and beer snacks, so what more do you want? If you want a meal then the brewery has a nice restaurant next door.

Rakovski Brovar (Раковский Бровар)
Vitebskaya 10 (Витебская 10)
12:00-24:00 daily
A Minsk institution. Some of the best beer in town can be found at this vast restaurant / micro-brewery hidden away in a street behind the Nemiga shopping centre. The first floor is split into dining areas with different themes and there’s a mezzanine floor upstairs plus an outside area in summer. It’s usually busy here and in the evenings there’s always a good atmosphere. The extensive menu includes plenty of Belarusian favourites. Certainly not the cheapest place in town but well worth a visit. English language menu.

Malibu
Prospekt Pobediteley 11 (Проспект Победителей 11)
12:00-24:00 daily
A tiny bar leads to two small floors in different styles, neither of them very pleasing. This place would probably be a hit in some provincial backwater, but in the middle of the capital and with a sign on the door proclaiming ‘non-stop face control’, it’s really not worth the bother.

Galereya Vin (Галерея Вин)
Prospekt Pobediteley 23 (Проспект Победителей 23)
10:00-22:00 Tues-Sun, 10:00-19:00 Mon
A wine shop with a couple of tables. A bit like going for a beer in your local off-license, with the same sense that something isn’t quite right.

Stari Miln
Prospekt Nezavisimosti 40 (Проспект Независимости 40)
This was a tiny venue spread over two floors on Victory Square and was popular with students from the nearby Linguistic University. At the time of writing it has been gutted and is being turned into the rather silly sounding Café Vogue. As soon as it re-opens we’ll let you know what it’s like.

Korchma (Корчма)
Starovilenskaya 2 (Старовиленская 2)
Bar 09:24:00, Café 12:24:00 daily
The best thing about this place was always the outdoor seating area in summer, perched as it is on the riverbank at the edge of the old town, with extensive views. This summer however guests find themselves encased in a rather tacky plastic tent, which rather hides this venue’s main selling point.

Na Troetskae (На Троецкое)
Bogdonovicha 19 (Богдановича 19)
10:00-23:00 daily from May-October
Partly on the river bank, part on the river, this summer bar on the edge of the old town, near the bridge, has a fairly basic menu bolstered by a wide range of pancakes to suit all tastes, whether sweet (honey, toffee etc) or savoury (cheese, mushroom, caviar etc). Not to everybody’s taste will be the toilet, an appalling, smelly, unhygienic cubicle on the pavement that should be avoided at all costs.

Tsyagnik (Цягник)
Kirova 3 (Кирова 3)
10:00-23:00 daily
A small bar with a cheap and cheerful menu near the railway station. Popular with students and harmless drunks.

Gorodskaya Istoriya (Городская История)
Traktor Stadium (Стадион «Трактор»)
11:00-23:00 daily
Small café notable because it’s on the second floor of the Traktor Stadium and it’s windows look out onto the arena. It even have a small terrace with tables and chairs and the barmaid assures me that it’s open for every home game of MTZ-RIPO Minsk, currently Minsk’s best football team. If that’s true then the seats on the terrace are the best in the stadium and admission is only a glass of beer!

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